Why You’d Never Survive Life During The Dark Ages
By DEBRA KELLY
History - Science
Justinian’s Plague
Named after the Byzantine emperor ruling when the disease came to Constantinople in 542, Justinian’s Plague was caused by a bacteria similar to what caused the Black Death. It spread rapidly in part due to a cold spell that prompted more people to migrate, and it didn’t end until 750.
ROME'S AFTERMATH
As the Roman Empire slowly crumbled, various tribes saw the opportunity to carve out their own shares of it by force. In Britain, for example, Saxon mercenaries used relatively advanced weapons and armor — like chainmail and chariots — to take over part of the island in what was described as “blood and thunder.”
William's Genocide
During the early 1000’s, William the Conqueror would stop at nothing to secure his right to the English throne. He dealt with resistance in the area of York by killing everyone who opposed him, causing a third of York to become an uninhabitable wasteland.
DEADLY BREAD
In Dark and Middle Ages Europe, even a bite of bread could be deadly. For centuries, it could carry a fungal disease known as St. Anthony’s Fire, which not only caused patients to suffer burning pain but led to their limbs turning necrotic and falling off.
The Catholic Church
After the first Council of Nicaea in 325, the Catholic Church went hardcore after any teachings it deemed heretical. The Paulicians, who believed no priest was needed for communion with God, saw their leader burned at the stake, and when the remaining members founded the Bogomils, they were the targets of bloody crusades.